Hogtown Smoke – Food Truck Profile

The suits line up for the Hogtown Smoke food truck at the Royal Bank Plaza across from Union Station.

Update: As of August 17 it’s been several weeks since the Hogtown Smoke truck was seen at a public event. They announced last weekend on Twitter that they’d be missing Steam Whistle’s Craft Beer Festival due to problems with their truck.

Every sort of business in New York City, from tourist-attracting towers to neighbourhood dog groomers carry Gotham in their name so we really shouldn’t be surprised that within the past year a pub, brewery, and now the Hogtown Smoke food truck have opened and borrowed Toronto’s nickname.

Hogtown Smoke

Hometown: Toronto, ON

Most-Talked-About, Signature Dish: The brisket sandwich is named as their signature dish right on the chalkboard and flat-screen menus and a large majority of those around me when I visited on a few occasions ordered it. The meat has the right level of salt, savour, and crispy outside bits to secure it’s place at the top of their trio.

Chicken, pulled pork, and brisket make the mini sandwich trio at the Hogtown Smoke food truck.

Better Off With: Twelve dollars for a sandwich (accompanied by a miniature cornbread doughnut and the smallest-possible paper cup of baked beans) needs some justification. The best possible I can think of is to maximize the I’d-never-make-this-at-home factor by ordering the trio of miniature sandwiches.

Lunch Location and Hours: It’s early days for them but it looks like Hogtown will be a regular in the parking lot on the southwest corner of Queen and Jarvis. (This spot is being called #foodtruckalley on Twitter). They also seem to be booked in about once a week at the Royal Bank Plaza at Front and Bay. The usual opening hours are from roughly 11 AM to 3 PM but check their Twitter stream to confirm.

Time to Place Order: Three to seven minutes but I always do my best to arrive slightly before noon.

Time to Get Food After Placing Order: A speedy four to seven minutes despite a fairly-large crowd.

Established: May 2012

The Added Touches: Between the flat-screen menus and free wifi Hogtown Smoke puts technology to good use.